Banana Almond Protein Smoothie
Healthy, nutty, creamy & just plain delicious is the only way I can describe this smoothie. It’s a great way to start your day off right & the kids will love it just as much as you will!
Serves: 1
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened, plain almond milk
1/2 cup organic vanilla yogurt
1 to 2 tsp honey, preferably raw (depending how sweet you want it)
1 Tblsp ground flaxseed
12 frozen banana slices (see Tips# 1 & 2)
2 ice cubes
1 1/2 Tblsp unsalted, fresh ground almond butter (see Tip# 3)
Directions
1. Put milk, yogurt & honey in a Bullet type blender cup & stir till the honey is well combined with the other ingredients (see Tips# 4 & 5).
2. Add flaxseed, bananas, ice & almond butter (in that order).
3. Process till blended & smooth. Do not over blend.
Tips & Suggestions
1. Freeze bananas ahead of time. Choose fresh bananas that are partially green or just turned yellow with no brown spots. The more they ripen the sweeter they become & have a higher calorie count.
2. Slice bananas about 1/2″ thick & place, in a single layer, in a quart sized freezer bag. Freeze & use them within 2 weeks or so.
3. You can find this type of almond butter in most major supermarkets. It’s the type that you grind yourself in the store, so you can buy as much or a little as you want. I’ve kept mine for as long as a year in the refrigerator & it was still good. It will separate, so you’ll need to give it a good stir each time you use it.
4. The reason for the extra step of stirring is because the honey tends to clump & stick to the Bullet cup, never getting fully integrated into the smoothie.
5. If you don’t have a Bullet type blender, you can use a regular full-sized blender. Eliminate the stirring in step# 1, just add all the ingredients in the OPPOSITE order listed & blend until smooth.
